Damian Thompson is Editor of Telegraph Blogs and a columnist for the Daily Telegraph. He was once described by The Church Times as a "blood-crazed ferret". He is on Twitter as HolySmoke. His latest book is The Fix: How addiction is taking over your world. He also writes about classical music for The Spectator.

Fans of feminist queer icon Ani DiFranco are facing quite a dilemma over the holidays.

Courtesy of the excellent Daily Dot comes the news that DiFranco – famous for "sharply political songwriting" – is holding her "Righteous Retreat" at the Nottoway Plantation and Resort, Louisiana, a gigantic mansion that once housed hundreds of slaves. Now an event venue-cum-tourist attraction, here's how it advertises itself:

And here are some screenshots from the Facebook page advertising Ani's retreat:

One poster quotes sardonically from material designed to show that Nottoway's 19th-century slaveowners weren't such bad guys:

Another gem from the Nottoway history guide:

No, your eyes are not deceiving you.

"A WILLING WORKFORCE".

Ani hasn't responded so far. I think she realises that it will take more than a sharply political song to get her out of this one. Incidentally, I gather her retreat will include "workshops". Nice.